To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 11 November 2009, Official Report, column 416W, on animal welfare, whether the guidance relating to named veterinary surgeons takes account of circumstances in which such a veterinary surgeon is a shareholder in a company owning a scientific procedures establishment. (304697)

Paragraphs 3.17 to 3.19 of the Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (HC321) dealing with conflicts of interest do not make specific reference to circumstances in which an individual is a shareholder in a company owning a scientific procedures establishment in which they are the named veterinary surgeon. However, all relevant circumstances will be taken into account when considering any suggestion that a potential conflict of interest exists.